David J. Rotfleisch's media roundup

By AdvocateDaily.com Staff

Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch is frequently called upon by the media to be a trusted source for their news stories, particularly for his focus on tax law matters for individuals and businesses.

On the third anniversary of the ‘Panama Papers’ information leak, perhaps the most significant effect of the reporting is the unprecedented scrutiny and universal international repugnance at massive international tax evasion that has brought about a paradigm shift in many people, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch writes in The Lawyer’s Daily.

**********

A recent Federal Court of Appeal decision that ruled the Canada Revenue Agency does not have the power to force people to give oral interviews during an audit will provide guidance for accountants who are on the front lines of tax cases, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells The Lawyer’s Daily.

A 2018 Supreme Court of British Columbia decision lends support to recent case law so that moving forward, a court is more likely to apply a knowledge-based analysis when a taxpayer is accused of tax evasion and less likely to focus on facts that go to the issue of deceit, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch writes in The Lawyer’s Daily.

A recent decision where the Tax Court of Canada denied a legal indemnity insurer’s claim for tax-exempt status is a very technical one — and it is not surprising that there is a lack of case law in that area, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells Law Times.

**********

The Canada Revenue Agency is one of the most difficult agencies to deal with — and as Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells CBC News, he often sees clients frustrated when they get conflicting answers from different government agents.

**********

The government has released a framework for taxation of cannabis and as Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells The Lawyer’s Daily, the proposals are “entirely akin” to the tobacco tax, in that the taxes are being calculated per gram of cannabis, and there are different provisions for stamped and unstamped products.

Although Ontario has announced that it will challenge the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, arguing the scheme is not within Ottawa’s powers, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells The Lawyer’s Daily that the Constitution Act, 1867 gives broad powers to the federal government to implement taxation — so the only path forward for Ontario and Saskatchewan is to say the legislation is not a tax but a regulatory scheme.

**********

A recent survey of Canada Revenue Agency employees reported that 90 per cent of respondents agreed that "it is easier for corporations and wealthy individuals to evade and/or avoid tax responsibilities than it is for average Canadians” — but, as Canadian tax lawyerDavid J. Rotfleisch writes in the Huffington Post, the survey questions were flawed, giving us flawed results.

A recent Tax Court of Canada case was “a gross overreach by the CRA to have attempted to apply s. 160” of the Income Tax Act in these circumstances, as this section only applies in limited instances, Canadian tax lawyerDavid J. Rotfleisch tells Law Times.

**********

As a company’s $2.1 billion transfer pricing dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was an “extraordinarily large, massive case” that is not exactly the norm, it is not surprising that the filings — including 700 pages of concluding arguments — are more than the norm, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells the Financial Post.

**********

The new Voluntary Disclosures Program application process is “riddled with problems,” including inconsistent application of the rules, poorly trained or untrained staff, and systems not yet in place, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells CBC News.

**********

News that Canada and a number of other nations will exchange information regarding the revenue, profit, tax and accumulated earnings of large multinational enterprises as part of an OECD project “will allow tax authorities to better plan their audit strategies,” Canadian tax lawyerDavid J. Rotfleisch tells Canadian Accountant.

**********

Many of Doug Ford’s tax proposals are business friendly and would provide welcome tax relief for both companies and individuals — but while the new PC government has the parliamentary power to enact any tax relief that it chooses, it may lack the fiscal ability to do so, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch writes in The Lawyer’s Daily.

When it comes to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), the major issue for separated parents tends to be proving that they’re actually separated and that they have custody of the children — and a parent who has been thoroughly vetted once isn’t exempt from future tax reviews, as the taxman can check in to make sure the parties are still separated, Canadian tax lawyerDavid J. Rotfleisch tells Global News.

**********

Canadian taxpayers have rights — and if you need to speak with the Canada Revenue Agency about a tax adjustment, a restatement or Notice of Assessment, it's a good idea to hire a professional to help you, especially if the taxes owing are five or six-figures, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch writes in the Huffington Post.

As soon as you receive an audit letter from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), it is advisable to turn to a professional for help — the earlier you seek advice from an accountant with the proper qualifications or a tax lawyer, the better case you are preparing from the get-go, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells Global News.

As a matter of policy, the CRA has always investigated anyone who is reported via an anonymous tip from a whistleblower — this is also an institutionalized policy with respect to offshore tax evasion through the Offshore Tax Informant Program (OTIP), which pays a percentage reward for any taxes recovered, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells Yahoo Finance Canada.

**********

The CRA’s new voluntary disclosures program (VDP) rules went into effect on March 1, abolishing the ‘no-names’ approach of the former rules that allowed for the disclosure of facts without providing the taxpayer’s name, and requested the CRA to opine if the circumstances met the criteria for protection under the program. It has been replaced with a consultative program — but instead of having a dedicated group of knowledgeable, trained staff handle these consultations, there is no process in place, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch writes in Canadian Accountant.

Although recent reports from the U.S. indicate that most participants in cryptocurrencies do not report their transactions, this is tax evasion in both the U.S. and Canada, as bitcoin is fully taxable when earned and has to be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch writes in The Lawyer’s Daily.

**********

Although the public needs to know that tax enforcement is taking place in the case of the Panama Papers data leak, recent news that that the Canada Revenue Agency served search warrants in connection with the case may be “largely a PR exercise,” Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells Canadian Accountant.

**********

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is set to release data required by the parliamentary budget office to calculate the so-called tax gap, which will provide a measure of the underground economy and how successful CRA is in fighting it — which Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells Canadian Accountant will likely “provide disturbing reading to honest taxpayers.”

Although it is likely the biggest area of misunderstanding when it comes to the taxation of cryptocurrency, if you swap one virtual currency for another, it must be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells Bloomberg.

**********

Judicial review is the only legal process by which a taxpayer may challenge discretionary decisions — applications for judicial review of the Canada Revenue Agency’s decisions must be brought before the Federal Court and cannot be heard in Tax Court, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch writes in the third of a three-part series in The Lawyer’s Daily.

**********

The Tax Court of Canada Act does not enable the Tax Court to decide tort actions against Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employees — a taxpayer may therefore bring a tort claim against the CRA in any provincial superior court, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch writes in part two of a three-part series in The Lawyer’s Daily.

The Canada Revenue Agency’s new ‘Postal Code Project’ has two objectives — to let the general public know that high net asset individuals are being targeted by the taxman and to let those individuals know that they are targets, and they need to get their “ducks in a row,” Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells CBC News Power & Politics.

**********

While there is growing recognition that tax evasion is not a victimless crime, as other taxpayers have to make up the shortfall, it is fair to say that the stigma attached to tax evasion is still not even close to drunk driving, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch writes in the Montreal Gazette.

Both the Tax Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal were “absolutely” correct in their recent interpretation of s. 21 of the Excise Tax Act, as it was “quite a stretch” by the federal government and the CRA to make the argument it didn’t apply to Highway 407, Canadian tax lawyer David J. Rotfleisch tells The Lawyer’s Daily.